I LOVE today’s project… Few things make my heart as happy as organization!  We have 9 kids between us… We use mops and brooms a lot. A whole lot.  So many people out there have the problem we faced in our new office… No broom and mop space!  It’s always nice to have broom storage and mop storage. So, we decided to come up with a little solution, and it’s pretty darn cute! This would also make a great diy pantry cabinet for canned goods and spices. This cabinet is very similar to our DIY bathroom storage cabinet and our DIY jewelry cabinet. Just click the Play Button below to watch us build this DIY Utility Storage Cabinet!

How cute did this storage cabinet turn out guys?

DIY Utility Storage Cabinet

We love it… It’s hiding all our cleaning supplies and it’s so pretty at the same time.  Now I’ll walk you through the steps.  Be sure to download and print the cut list and FREE PLANS by clicking HERE!

How to build a storage cabinet

The first step is creating the box. These are 1×6 boards. Attach the shorter ends to the longer ends using wood glue and 1.25” pocket hole screws through 3/4” pocket holes. We used our Kreg Jig Pocket hole jig to create our pocket holes for this cabinet. You can face the pocket holes out on this because they won’t be seen once the cabinet is hanging on the wall.

Right Angle Clamp

We used a Kreg Right Angle Clamp for this part… We LOVE this thing!  Go check it out HERE! The Right Angle Clamp makes projects with 90° joints faster and easier than ever by giving you the helping hand you need to hold the parts in position as you drive in the screws. Just slip the pin on the Right Angle Clamp into a pocket hole, close the clamp, and it draws the pieces tightly together. It really is like having an additional hand to hold it for you!

Attach the support boards

Now attach the support boards. These will be the boards that you will use to hold the cabinet to the wall. I used 1×4 pine boards for this part. We used the Kreg Pocket hole jig to create 3/4” pocket holes on each short end and along one longer end. Then, we attached the board to the top and sides of the box using wood glue and 1.25” pocket hole screws.  Now attach the support boards. These will be the boards that you will use to hold the cabinet to the wall. I used 1×4 pine boards for this part. We used the Kreg Pocket hole jig to create 3/4” pocket holes on each short end and along one longer end. Then, we attached the board to the top and sides of the box using wood glue and 1.25” pocket hole screws.  On this step you can also cut some additional boards to add shelves if you would like them inside your cabinet.   If you use the Kreg pin hole jig, you can even make these adjustable shelves.  You can use shelf pins to place your shelves where they fit your storage needs best!

Attaching the face frame

Create the face frame next. These are 1×2 pine boards. After adding 3/4″ pocket hole screws to the back of the shorter 1×2 pieces, attach them to the longer pieces using wood glue and 1.25″ pocket hole screws. Once the frame is built, attach it to the front of the box using wood glue and 1.25” brad nails. We used our Ryobi 18v brad nail gun for this part. You want the edges of the frame to be flush with the edges of the 1×6 cabinet body.

Build the cabinet door

Moving on to the door! Create the frame of the door first. Add 3/4″ pocket holes on the back side of the the shorter boards. Then, attach those shorter boards to the longer boards using wood glue and 1.25” pocket hole screws through the 3/4” pocket holes.  We used our Ryobi 18v drill for this part.  

Attach the divider boards next. These are 1×3 pine boards spaced every 18”. Attach the to the frame using wood glue and 1.25” pocket hole screws.

Cut the back panel of the door to size and attach it to the back of the frame using wood glue and staples through the back and into the frame. This is 1/4″ plywood we used for the back of our cabinet door.

The final step before attaching the door is adding the tin panels. These are faux tin panels that we found HERE on Amazon. We love the look of pressed tin! It adds a lot of character to your woodworking pieces. You can really use any material on this part to get the look you want or even just paint it to match the rest of the door. Attach the panels using hot glue or strong craft glue. We used our Ryobi hot glue gun for this part. 

Painting the cabinet

HERE is the paint color we used on the cabinet!

HERE is the paint color we used on the faux tin!

The faux tin is an amazon find (of course 😉 ) You can find it HERE! We love this stuff! It’s plastic.  We buy it in any color, and then paint it the color of choice.  After it dries, we lightly sand it to give it a vintage look.  It’s a little pricey, but much easier to work with than actual tin and we think it adds so much to each project we use them on!

Cabinet Hardware

Y’all know the hardware is always our favorite part!  So… here we go!

You can find the cabinet door pull HERE!

You can find the metal corner brackets HERE super cheap!  We use these on so many projects!

You can find the door hinges HERE!

Attach cabinet to wall

Once your cabinet is built and finished, you can attach it to the wall. We have found the best and strongest way to do this is by finding the wall studs.  Mark the studs with a stud finder, and then use 3″ wood screws through the support boards of the cabinet and into the studs in the wall. Be sure to add wood screws to the top and bottom support boards and also be sure the cabinet is level.

Make sure to share your builds with us on Instagram and Facebook! Use hashtag #shanty2chic Happy Building!

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15 Comments

  1. Well. Being a newbie … I messed up. The two side boards of my frame were too long because I didn’t measure them after cutting off the bottom and top pieces. I added up the numbers and they equaled 8 feet, so I figured I’d just cut the bottom and top pieces and what remained would be the sides…wrong…just learned that boards are not exactly the specified size. I sort of knew that, but I guess it slipped mind. So I had already made the frame when I noticed this and had cut other pieces. Cost me an extra $20. Guess that cost is less than the cost of a woodworking class. Oh well. Perhaps add this to the notes for newbies like me. Other than that…the plans are GREAT! Thank you.

    1. Less than $150. I added some peg board in the back and used peg hooks to hang the items. Also, I used metal French cleats to attach to the wall. I discovered that these can be purchased as a set at Home Depot. Works great,

  2. I LOVE this!! I am all about organization and hiding the ugly. 🙂 I also love the wallpaper. Where can I find the wallpaper?

  3. Maybe you could do a post on actually painting these cabinets. I tried to build a custom closet organizer a few years ago and it turned out great, except…..the paint job did not look as professional and smooth as I would have liked. I used primed wood with 3 coats of sprayed on paint, using a HVLP sprayer and one coat of clear. I used a high grit sand paper between coats.

  4. So beautiful. I live in an appartment and dont have tools for pocket holes can I still use a normal drill?

    1. Those are commands hooks. You should be able to find them at any home improvement store, such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, Menards, or even Walmart. At Walmart they are typically in the area by the coat racks, hooks, etc. Or wherever they have their selection of command hooks.

  5. I live your site but…it is so filled with pop up ads the content is lost . I gave up trying to look.

  6. Wow, what you can do, is amazing your pieces are so beautiful, thanks for sharing, hoping to have a barn door pomade for two closets??